The Bible: A Sure Word for Confusing Times

A friend sent me a book, Nobody Moved Your Cheese: How to ignore the "experts and trust your gut." The author, Ross Shafer, is a comic, has hosted TV shows, and survived enough personal and professional reverses for several people. The book’s theme is, "Take charge of your own life!" Sarah Palin would say, "Man up!"This is not an endorsement for the book, but a wordy introduction to a subject Ross addressed.

In the chapter titled, "Don’t listen to those fear mongering futurists," Shafer asks important questions, "Who are you listening to for advice? (From) whom do you get your answers from about your future job? . . . The future of the world? Do these people really know what they are talking about or are they making totally unfounded predictions to make a name for themselves?" These and other salient questions beg for serious answers.

Thank God for those who have brought others to the reliable answers which are found in God’s Word, the Bible. Parents, Sunday school teachers, Bible club organizers, Vacation Bible School workers, college and seminary professors and many others have generously poured into our lives. They have been worthy of being heard. Their lives validate what they say.

The truth of God’s Word eliminates fear. Politicians do their best to manipulate the electorate to fear, and then promise to alleviate anxieties in the desperate attempt to collect votes. It is a vicious cycle played out on TV screens every few minutes. Billboards and yard signs make seven word promises – cheap sloganeering, firmly rooted in thin air, with no substance nor real information.

God’s Word, in contrast, announces fear-quieting, sin-forgiving, hope-building truth rooted in God’s character and validated in history. I am drawn to Peter’s assurances.
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
"Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." (2 Peter 3:8-14, NIV)
Knowing God’s Word is potent, practical and peaceful. To be ignorant is to be condemned to lackluster existence, aimless searching and unslaked anxiety.

How does one gain a healthy grasp on God’s Word? I have learned that:I must read the Bible regularly, and in a large context. Verses in isolation are frequently dangerous. Romans 8:28 is often chanted mindlessly like an Eastern mantra, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Good enough, but the context adds weight and brings God’s intentions into focus. The purpose of God is, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30)

• I must read the entire Bible because God’s Word interprets itself. A prophet often is interpreted by an Epistle written centuries later. Reading an Epistle and being able to recognize the source the of writer’s source material is an enriching, faith-building event!\
• I must allow the Holy Spirit to teach me. By the Spirit St. Paul penned, "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:10-14)
• I must listen to those whose lives can be verified. Some are overly influenced by what they read in books, see on television, or hear via the snarled vines of rumor. Someone recently related how thousands of people were being raised from the dead in Asia. The reported phenomenon was staggering. People of other religions, even whole nations were coming to the Lord. If this were so, wouldn’t the press be thronging at the site of the miraculous happenings? Those resurrected would certainly be in demand as public speakers. Publishers would be paying huge advances for book rights. Friends, it is not unspiritual to check your sources! Learn from people who validate their teaching with their lives.
• Attend church! The people of God gathering is a provision sent from heaven! When we meet with God’s people, we ought to expect to learn, experience God in a special dimension, and discover new potential of God’s Word at work in the people we know and love.

Even a frequently failing comedian who writes a book of average quality can be an instrument of the Spirit to awaken truths. Thank you Mr. Shafer! But, if God’s Word had not been faithfully imbedded in my spirit by the Holy Spirit, Shafer’s paragraph would not have triggered new dimensions of faith.